Don't Give Up, Don't Walk Away
by EmyPink
Summary: When a team member is found on the brink of death, the hunt for the assailant is not just about justice, it’s about revenge. Written for the NFA It Was a Dark and Stormy Night Challenge.
1. Prologue

**Don't Give Up, Don't Walk Away **

By EmyPink

_Written for the NFA It Was a Dark and Stormy Night Challenge _

**Disclaimer:** All names and trademarks recognised as "NCIS" do not belong to me; I've just borrowed the characters for my own purpose. The title is inspired by the song 'Don't Give Up' sung by Rebecca Lavelle for the television show 'McLeod's Daughters'.

**Rating:** T

**Parings:** None

**Characters:** Tony, Gibbs, Ziva, McGee et al.

**Genres:** Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Gen

**Warnings:** Some violence

**Word Count:** c.11,000 words

**Summary: **When a team member is found on the brink of death, the hunt for the assailant is not just about justice, it's about revenge.

---

**Prologue: **_A Date With the Destiny of Death _

Timothy McGee hummed along with the radio as he showered early on a Monday morning. It was the start of a new working week, but if the weather was anything to go by, it wasn't looking bright. Literally.

For the past week, Washington DC had been plagued with an abnormal amount of fierce storms that lashed out against the city. The amount of water that had been dumped on the city was astonishing; it was surprising that the buildings hadn't floated away.

McGee was enjoying his warm shower when his cell phone rang. He started and nearly slipped over. McGee scrambled to his feet, turned off the luxurious jet of warm water and flung himself out of the bathroom, only just remembering to grab a towel on the way out.

As he wrapped the towel around his waist, McGee called, "Hold on. I'm coming."

He stumbled his way over to his cell phone, looked at the caller ID and sighed. "What do you want, Tony?"

"Good morning to you too, Probie," Tony replied dryly. He paused. "Do you still want that lift to work?"

"Yeah." McGee tried to sound grateful, even though Tony had interrupted his shower. His car had been having problems lately and McGee has decided that it was too risky driving it in this weather so Tony had reluctantly volunteered to drive him to work, and Ziva to drive him home.

"I'll be there in five. You'd better be ready, McGeek," Tony ordered and hung up.

McGee sighed. There was no way he was getting back under that showerhead. He trudged back to his bedroom and pulled out a clean shirt, followed by one of his favourite suits. Even if the weather was horrendous, he could still feel good about himself.

Just as he was doing up the last shirt button, the door bell rang. Had it been five minutes already? He didn't know, but he supposed it was Tony at the door. McGee sighed. It was going to be a long day.

"I'm coming," McGee called to the door as he picked up his jacket and bag, and scurried to the door.

"I'm sure you said five, Tony, and I swear that was not . . ." he started, annoyed, as he flicked off the safety chain and opened the door.

"Wha . . .?" Instead of Tony, there was a man and woman standing in his doorway.

"Remember us?" the man asked, brandishing a baseball bat. And if that wasn't enough to set alarm bells ringing, the woman carried a metal pole.

McGee stood in shock for a second, before the first swing of the baseball bat jolted him into action. He ducked and the swing clipped his shoulder, making him drop his bag and jacket. Instinctively, McGee ran.

McGee rushed back into his bedroom, scanning for anything that could be used as a weapon. Damn himself for leaving his gun at work. He found nothing.

The second blow by the baseball bat caught him heavily in the stomach. He doubled over as pain ricocheted off one side of his rib cage to the other. He gasped for breath and the metal pole wielded by the woman came crashing down on his shoulder.

McGee was too shocked to cry out. He collapsed to his knees, experiencing more pain than he ever had in his entire life put together. Something collided with his head and his knees buckled, sending him sprawling on his back. McGee gasped and squeezed his eyes shut.

In his own darkness, he felt something crack against his knee and against his rib cage again. McGee opened one eye. The last, fuzzy image he saw was the man and woman standing over him, their weapons held high and suddenly, his world went dark.

As blood rained down on the walls of his bedroom, the rain outside grew heavier.

---

At the same time, Tony had pulled up in front of McGee's apartment and was chatting happily on the phone. It had rung just he had pulled up to the kerb.

"No can do Wednesday," Tony said casually into his phone as he twirled a pen in his fingers. He looked at his watch, exited the car and ran for cover.

"Saturday? Maybe. I'll have to check," he replied as he walked into the foyer of McGee's apartment block.

He shook himself dry as he laughed, "Crystal, you can do more than that. In fact . . ." Tony lowered his voice and whispered something into the phone, making Crystal giggle like a schoolgirl.

After Crystal had replied, Tony flushed and immediately said, "Scratch that, I'll see you on Saturday."

Tony pushed the button for the elevator to take him to McGee's floor. As he waited for the elevator, Tony said huskily, "You're a naughty girl, Crystal. I can't wait to see you on Saturday."

The elevator chimed so Tony finished, "I have to go. I'll see you on Saturday. I'll pick you up at eight. Be good till then."

Crystal said her goodbye and Tony pocketed his phone as he stepped into the elevator. He sighed happily. His weekend was sorted, and even the horrible weather outside couldn't damper his spirits. Tony grinned. He'd met Crystal the other week and they had hit it off immediately. He was looking forward to their date.

The elevator signalled that he had arrived at McGee's floor. Sighing happily again, Tony stepped out of the carriage and strolled down the hallway to McGee's apartment. As Tony turned the corner, his blood ran cold as he saw McGee's door ajar.

Tony pulled out his gun and inched his way to McGee's door. As he got close, he could hear the unmistakable sound of weapon hitting skin. Tony flinched and jerked back.

Shaking his head, Tony pushed open the door to McGee's apartment and cursed the fact that it squeaked loudly. He heard someone mutter, "Someone's here."

Tony swiftly stepped into the apartment, raised his weapon and yelled, "NCIS! Stay where you are!"

What happened next was over in seconds. As if a blur, two figures raced towards Tony with some kind of weapon. Before he could get a shot off, something slammed into his wrist, sending him to the ground. He groaned in pain and could only watch at the man and woman rushed out the door and disappeared from sight.

Tony hissed, half in anger and half in pain. Staggering to his feet, Tony called, "McGee? Are you okay?"

He got no answer, so tried again. "Probie? Tim? Talk to me."

Tony pushed his way into the bedroom, scanned his eyes around the room and froze. Distinctive blood spatters painted the walls. Tony was shaking as he followed the blood and found the source of it all.

It was McGee.

Tony stood in shock, unable to tear his eyes away from McGee's almost unrecognisable face. Blood was pooled around his head; it had sunk in his shirt and his pants. What was once white was now red.

Resisting the urge to throw up violently, Tony dropped his gun to the ground with a clutter and rushed clumsily to McGee.

"McGee!" he cried. He looked and felt horrified.

Tony dropped to his knees and fumbled around McGee's neck. "Please don't be dead," he whispered to himself, his own throbbing pain forgotten. "God, please don't be dead, McGee."

He kept muttering "please, please, please" to himself until he found a weak, but there pulse. Tony's arm dropped limply to his side as he took a deep breath. A pulse meant that McGee was still alive, still fighting. Just.

With shaking hands, Tony pulled out his phone and awkwardly dialled 911. There was a crash of thunder as the operator answered,

"911, what's your emergency."


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One: **_In The Aftermath of a Tragedy _

The silver NCIS-issued car screeched to a halt in front of a scene surrounded by medical personnel, police officers and nosy bystanders. Its lone occupant was out of the car before it stopped. He left the keys in the ignition, the doors unlocked and the engine still running. He looked around, and his gaze settled on a familiar dark-haired woman.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs zeroed in on Ziva and dashed over to the Mossad Officer, shouting, "What the hell happened?"

Ziva looked shaken as she shook some water from her hair. While it was not raining at the moment, it had been when she arrived. "I do not know, Gibbs. All I got was a call from Tony, dabbling that something had happened to McGee. Since I had not yet left for work, I came straight here.

'Babbling,' Gibbs thought, correcting Ziva mentally. Instead, he replied, "I thought DiNozzo called you after me?"

Ziva nodded. "He did. But as I live in Silver Springs, also, it was not a long trip."

"Right, of course." Gibbs ran a hand through his silver-hair. He sighed. "Do you know McGee's condition?"

Ziva shook her head and looked a little angry. "The police have not let me through, even though I have shown my NCIS ID. And I have not spoken to Tony, nor anyone else."

"Wonderful," Gibbs muttered and frowned. "Leave it to me."

Gibbs stormed over to the highest ranking officer he could find and was about to give him a piece of his mind when a gurney rushed out from the entrance of McGee's apartment block. Without giving the officer another thought, Gibbs pushed his way past the containment lines designed to keep out bystanders. He knocked a couple of officers along the way, but didn't stop to apologise.

As he reached the gurney surrounded by paramedics, Gibbs called out, "Tony."

Tony looked up slowly. He was nearly as pale as McGee was, and looked shocked. He clutched his hand to his chest and Gibbs could see that it was injured. His nice designer suit was now ruined by a mixture of rainwater and blood.

"Boss," he said quietly as Gibbs manoeuvred himself around the gurney containing a critically injured McGee and appeared next to Tony.

"Boss, I . . ." Tony tried but faltered as they followed the gurney towards the ambulance. Tony couldn't take his eyes off McGee's prone form.

Gibbs followed Tony's line of sight and finally got a good look at McGee. The fact that he was a trained Marine and NCIS agent was the only thing keeping him from losing it completely. Gibbs cursed, shocking even Tony with the harsh words. If anything, it furthered Tony's look of fear.

"McGee!" Ziva rushed up to the gurney and came to an abrupt halt opposite Tony and Gibbs. Her concerned look turned to horror as she looked up at Tony and Gibbs. They thought, perhaps, that Ziva looked on the verge of tears.

Ziva said something in Hebrew that Tony and Gibbs didn't understand. It could have been a prayer, a curse or a mixture of both. Then her look of horror faded slightly and pure anger shone from her eyes.

"Do we know who did it?" she spat.

Gibbs looked at Tony who replied softly, "I, uh, got a look at them, I think, as I interrupted them. He did this." He held up his wrist and his face darkened. "Though it's nothing compared to McGee." Tony looked down at McGee who was about to be loaded into the ambulance, then looked away.

Gibbs placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. "You did everything you could."

Tony's eyes flashed and he stepped back. "Did I?" he said bitterly. "I was talking on my bloody phone while . . . while McGee was . . . was . . ." Tony struggled to say it. Instead, he turned and stormed away.

"Tony!" Ziva called, almost desperately, but Gibbs patted her shoulder.

"Leave him," he suggested. He looked between the ambulance and the direction Tony had walked off in. "Look, why don't you go with McGee, okay? I need someone to go with him. Ducky will meet you there. I'll deal with DiNozzo."

"What about the crime scene?" Ziva asked because she had nothing better to respond with.

"I'll deal with that as well," Gibbs assured her and nodded to the ambulance. "Tim needs someone right now, and since he's got no family here at the moment, you're the closest thing he's got. Go, keep me updated."

"Okay," Ziva said, looking unsure of herself. She actually looked scared of getting into that ambulance with McGee.

Gibbs squeezed her shoulder. "Go," he urged and then called to the paramedics, "She'll be riding with you."

They nodded, somewhat reluctantly. The paramedics finished loading McGee into the ambulance, gestured for Ziva to follow, closed the doors and drove off, sirens wailing.

Gibbs watched the ambulance disappear around the corner before heading in the direction that Tony had stormed off in.

---

"DiNozzo, you should get that arm looked at," Gibbs suggested quietly as he walked up to Tony who was sitting beneath a dripping tree.

"It's fine, boss," Tony murmured, looking everywhere but at Gibbs himself.

"Doesn't look fine to me, Tony," Gibbs replied.

"It doesn't even hurt," Tony said as he gingerly ran his hand over his wrist. He winced when he hit a sore spot, contradicting his last statement.

"DiNozzo . . ." Gibbs said warningly.

"Look, it doesn't matter," Tony finally snapped. "It's fine. I . . ." he trailed off and fell silent.

"I what?" Gibbs questioned with an impassive face.

"Nothing," Tony muttered. He pulled his knees to his chest and winced again.

"At least let Ducky look at it," Gibbs suggested, trying to make Tony see some kind of reason.

Tony shook his head. "I'm going to the hospital to see McGee, not back to NCIS."

"You need to make a report, Tony," Gibbs reminded him.

Tony looked angry. "Do you really think I care about a stupid report? Ask me anything you like. I am going to the hospital and if you are any kind of boss, you would be there too and not interrogating the idiot too caught up in his own world to realise that his co-worker was getting killed in the next room!"

Tony stood up and stormed off in the direction of his car. Gibbs could almost see the anger radiating off his body. Gibbs sighed, stood and hurriedly caught up with Tony.

"Don't be stupid, DiNozzo," he said firmly. "You are in no condition to drive. You're injured and it's slippery. You want to get in an accident on the way there? That wouldn't help McGee. I'll drive."

Tony looked conflicted as he held his car keys in his uninjured hand. On one hand, he wanted to be alone (he didn't deserve help, not after he didn't help McGee). But on the other hand, Tony knew he would not be able to drive with an injured hand.

He sighed and said, resigned, "Fine. Whatever. Drive the car."

Tony haphazardly chucked the keys to Gibbs as though he didn't care, got in the car and slammed the passenger side door shut. He sat there with his arms crossed and glared at Gibbs.

Gibbs ignored Tony's expression, climbed into the driver's seat and revved up the engine. He looked over at Tony who looked away and stared out the window. Gibbs sighed.

"It wasn't your fault, Tony," Gibbs said softly as he pulled away from the crime scene.

Tony muttered something that sounded a lot like, "In your opinion, not mine."

They were silent for the rest of the journey.

---

For the first time in a long while, Ziva was at a loss. She had been shoved, practically against her will, into the ambulance with the critically injured McGee. So as the sirens wailed along the streets and the paramedics attended to McGee, Ziva felt helpless.

"Will . . . he be okay?" Ziva finally asked, about two minutes into their ride to Bethesda Naval Hospital.

The male paramedic glanced up. "I'm sorry, Miss . . ."

"David. Officer David. Ziva."

"I'm sorry, Ziva," the paramedic, named Roman, repeated. "It's too early to tell. Agent McGee has suffered serious injuries, which we won't know the extent of until we reach the hospital."

Ziva looked downcast. "I know, but what do _you_ think?"

"I don't know," Roman said honestly. "I'm not a doctor, especially not one that deals with these kinds of injuries."

"You are still medical personnel," Ziva pushed as they zipped around a corner. "You must be able to have an opinion, yes?

Roman looked awkward. He paused for a moment before saying, "If I'm honest with you, these are some of the worst injuries I've ever seen that weren't from a car crash. I don't know. I'm sorry, but I don't think anyone knows yet. Sometimes people recover from such injuries, I've seen it happen, but others cannot. It is really too early to tell."

Ziva didn't reply. She turned away from Roman and tried to blink back her tears. There was nothing to cry over, not yet. McGee wasn't dead. She was better than this.

"You must be close," Roman said, cutting into Ziva's thoughts.

"What? Oh, I guess," Ziva replied, caught off-guard. "We are co-workers and friends."

"Good friends? Roman continued.

"Well, yes, I suppose."

"Then it's absolutely natural to be upset, Ziva," Roman said gently as he checked one of the machines hooked up to McGee.

"I am not upset," Ziva quickly defended. "Concerned, yes. Angry, of course. But I am fine."

"It's not wrong," Roman said causally, "to display emotion."

"I know that," Ziva snapped, slightly offended.

"Do you?" Roman challenged. He was about to say something else when the heart monitor attached to McGee went haywire.

"He's crashing!" Roman yelled. He pushed Ziva aside and pulled the defibrillator towards him.

Ziva tuned out Roman and the female driver's conversation, and the resulting zap of the machine. She could only watch in horror as McGee's body jerked upwards. She winced. McGee was still flat-lining. Roman went again and Ziva turned her face away, she couldn't bear it again.

'Please do not die,' she prayed.

As the machine shot its electrical voltage through McGee's body, Ziva wasn't even aware that she was crying.

---

"Gibbs! Tony!" Abby shrieked as the pair rushed through the entrance of Bethesda Naval Hospital.

She rushed over to the newcomers, her favoured boots clanking on the tiles. She threw her arms around Gibbs so forcefully that he stumbled backwards.

"Where's my Timmy?" she whimpered into his shoulder.

Gibbs put his arm around Abby's shoulders. "They're not here yet?"

"I'm afraid so, Jethro," Ducky replied as he stood up from his seat. He walked over to the group. "We have only just got here."

Gibbs looked frustrated. "We left a good five minutes after the ambulance did. Where the hell are they?"

"Calm down, Jethro," Ducky ordered gently in his calming British accent.

"Calm down? Calm down?" Gibbs looked livid. "My agent was brutally attacked in his own home and you want me to calm down! God, Ducky . . ."

This outburst by Gibbs sent Abby in to a fit of tears. "B-but he was okay, right," Abby hiccupped. "I mean, you-you saw him."

"Oh, we saw him," Tony replied darkly. "You couldn't even recognise him. His face was swollen, bruised . . . battered. There was the blood too. Lots of it. Running into the carpet, into the floor, into . . ."

"Stop it!" Abby shrieked. She let go off Gibbs and covered her ears. "Stop it!"

Tony shrugged nonchalantly. "I was just saying . . ."

"Maybe you shouldn't say anything," Gibbs hissed in a low voice. "Just shut up, DiNozzo. You're upsetting Abby."

"Fine." Tony crossed his arms and gasped as he knocked his wrist.

Ducky immediately looked concerned. "Jethro didn't tell me you were injured, Anthony."

"I'm not," Tony replied.

Ducky shot Gibbs a disapproving look. "I would beg to differ, dear boy. Why don't I get a doctor to come and look at it?"

"Why bother," Tony said dryly. "Doctors are much too busy to look at a pathetic sprain."

"It's more than a sprain," Ducky noted.

Tony shrugged and lied, "Doesn't even hurt."

This time, Abby looked angry. "You're hurt, Tony," she snapped in a high pitched voice. "Get over yourself and let Ducky get a doctor. God, you are such a stubborn idiot sometimes."

"Agreed," Gibbs echoed, earning himself a glare from Tony.

"Do what you like then," Tony muttered, walking away from the group and sitting down on one of the seats in the next cluster of chairs. "I don't care."

Ducky sighed and said, "I will get a doctor."

But before Ducky could move, the doors to the ER burst open and a gurney with a familiar person on it was pushed through.

"McGee!" Abby yelled and dashed over to the incoming gurney. But then she stopped and froze. Her eyes widened and she looked over to Ziva, who had trailed in behind the group of paramedics and doctors. Ziva looked terrified.

Roman was performing CPR.


	3. Chapter Two

**

* * *

Chapter Two: **_Holding On to Faith _

"No. No. No! McGee!" Abby shrieked as the gurney rolled past. She tried to make her way over to McGee, but Gibbs wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back.

Abby struggled against him. "Let me go!" she yelled, sounding hysterical.

"Shhh, Abby, no," Gibbs soothed, unwilling to loosen his grip. "Let the doctors see to him." Roman and the gurney disappeared into the trauma centre.

"I want to be with him!" Abby cried, and Gibbs had to agree with her sentiment. He wanted to be with his agent.

Abby whimpered and buried her face in Gibbs' shoulder. "Ohmigod, he's dead. Timmy's dead!"

Gibbs frowned and looked very unhappy. He pulled Abby away from his shoulder and looked at her fiercely.

"He is not dead," he said firmly. He echoed what he had said last time one of his agent's was on death's door. "I didn't give him permission."

Abby sniffled. "But . . . but. Look at him."

Gibbs nodded, changing from fierce to sympathetic. "I know, Abs. I know. But the best thing we can do is stay positive and not add fuel to the fire. Okay?"

Abby nodded. "I guess." She sniffled again. "But Gibbs . . ."

Gibbs pressed a finger to Abby's lips. "Tim needs our support, and not this."

Ducky agreed. "Exactly as Jethro said. Timothy needs us to be strong."

Abby nodded again, and sniffled. She curled back into Gibbs' shoulder and Gibbs moved his arm to embrace her shoulders.

He looked over to Ziva, who was standing stiffly and staring at the trauma doors. "You okay, Ziva?"

She started, shook her head and gave a weak smile. "I am fine."

Gibbs didn't quite believe her, but nodded.

Ducky looked sympathetic and walked over to Ziva. "Come and sit down, dear." He patted her shoulder and led her to a seat next to Tony.

She looked to her right, to Tony. "You are hurt," she commented.

Tony gave her a withering glare. "How astute of you, Officer Obvious."

Ziva made a face. "There is no need to be so snarky," she said, annoyed.

Tony shrugged. "Whatever."

Ziva looked as though she was about to retort, but Ducky cut in gently. "Why don't you and I find a doctor to look at your arm, Anthony?"

"What? But . . ." Tony protested.

Ducky shook his head. "Come on, Anthony," he said firmly.

Tony looked at Gibbs who shrugged, dislodging Abby from his shoulder. "You heard the man, DiNozzo."

"Fine," Tony huffed. He stood up with a forced look of contempt on his face.

Ducky smiled. "Excellent. Follow me."

Tony looked unimpressed as he followed Ducky over to the triage area. He stood there, arm hanging limply, as Ducky spoke to a nurse. Ziva, Gibbs and Abby watched as the nurse led both Tony and Ducky through the doors and into the emergency room.

Abby sniffled again and asked, "Do we know who did it?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Not at the moment, but Saunders' team working on it."

"I think there is CCTV near McGee's apartment," Ziva offered.

"Good. Saunders' team will look at that," Gibbs nodded approvingly.

"So you'll get who did this?" Abby asked, wiping her eyes.

"Of course we will, Abby," Gibbs said firmly. "They will not get away with it."

Ziva nodded. "They will wish they had never been born."

---

"If you will just wait here, a doctor will be along soon," the nurse said with a pleasant smile as she settled Tony into an exam cubicle.

"Thank you, Nurse Hardy," Ducky smiled, looking at the young woman's name badge.

She grinned back. "I'll see where the on-call doctor is." She slipped out of the cubical.

Ducky turned to Tony. "I want you to behave, Tony."

Tony gave Ducky an innocent look. "Behave?"

"Yes. You have had a nasty shock, and you are injured." Ducky held up his hand as Tony started to protest. "What happened to Timothy was not your fault. It may feel as though it is, but there is no one to blame but the attackers."

Tony snorted and looked away.

Ducky remained passive. "You do not agree with me."

"Of course I don't damn agree with you," Tony seethed.

"And why is that?" Ducky asked.

"You know why," Tony muttered.

"Perhaps I do not. Maybe you would like to remind me."

"Or maybe I wouldn't," Tony shot back, giving Ducky a dark look. He didn't care that he was being rude.

"Anthony . . ." Ducky tried, sounding calm and unfazed.

"Just go away, Ducky!" Tony yelled. He blushed slightly and lowered his voice.

"Look, I'm fine," he said with faked cheerfulness. "Go back to the others."

"I don't believe . . ."

"I said go," Tony hissed. "Or I can have you thrown out."

Ducky looked slightly taken aback. "If that is what you wish."

Tony nodded. "It is."

"Very well, but I will be back later to check up on you," Ducky said as he pulled back the curtain and stepped outside the cubical.

Tony shrugged and said nothing. Ducky drew back the curtains and Tony listened to his footsteps as they faded.

He sighed, looked down at his injured arm and tried very hard not to cry.

---

"How's Tony?" Gibbs asked as Ducky arrived back at the group. Gibbs was now sitting next to Ziva, with Abby on his other side. Ducky could feel the tension in the atmosphere.

Ducky sighed. "Stubborn."

"As always," Ziva muttered.

"But he'll be okay," Abby asked. She had stopped crying, but the fallen tears were evident on her face.

"I assume so," Ducky reassured. "From what I could see, I think it is only a nasty sprain. It will probably hurt for awhile, and you'll be down another field agent for a few weeks, but it will heal."

"Will it?" Gibbs asked, and they all knew they weren't talking about Tony's injury.

Ducky paused. "We all saw Timothy," he said finally, prompting a sob from Abby. "We will move on, eventually."

"It was so horrible," Abby said, voice wavering. She looked on the verge of tears again. "But I can't imagine what Tony was feeling, finding him like that."

Tears spilled over her eyes and she started crying again. Gibbs put his arm around her shoulders and said quietly, "He'll be okay, Abs."

"Which one?" Abby all but wailed.

"Both," Gibbs said firmly. "Tony and McGee will both be fine. They are getting the best possible care."

Ziva nodded. "We must believe that they will be okay," she agreed, though she still looked a little pale.

"You must have faith, Abigail," Ducky continued as Gibbs' phone rang.

Abby nodded tearfully. "I believe that they will be okay," she whispered.

Ziva murmured something in Hebrew, and Ducky echoed Abby. "We believe that they will be okay."

"Of course they will," Gibbs cut in, hearing the end of their conversation.

He closed his phone. "That was Saunders. They think they have something."


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three: **_After the Fact_

"What has he got?" Ziva asked immediately, ready and willing to jump into full agent mode. It would give her something to focus on.

"Something about CCTV," Gibbs replied quickly as he picked up his coat. "Saunders was a bit vague and hurried, but they've gone back to NCIS."

"I will get the car?" Ziva offered.

Gibbs nodded and Ziva hurried from the room, glad to be doing something productive. Gibbs turned to Abby and Ducky.

"Abs, I know you want to stay with McGee, but . . ." Gibbs started carefully.

"But you need me to go over the CCTV," Abby finished, sniffling.

Gibbs nodded. "Something like that."

Abby looked at Ducky, who gave her a reassuring smile, and then looked at the trauma door before turning her attention back to Gibbs. "I guess, but . . ."

"Ducky will stay here," Gibbs cut in. It was an order, not a request.

"Of course, Jethro," Ducky nodded. "I need to keep an eye on Anthony as well." He turned to Abby. "Abigail, I promise that I'll call you as soon as I know anything."

Abby gripped Ducky's hand. "Promise."

He squeezed her hand. "Absolutely, my dear."

"Okay," Abby said finally. "I'll come . . . but just because it'll help Timmy."

"Of course." Gibbs looked pleased. He turned and said to Ducky, "You'll let Tony know what's going on?"

"If you wish," Ducky said, but then mused, "but he does not seem to want to see me."

Gibbs shrugged. "Make him."

Gibbs gestured for Abby to follow him out of the hospital. She shot Ducky a final, tearful look before hurrying after Gibbs.

"We will get them, Gibbs, won't we?" Abby asked as she caught up with Gibbs.

He didn't stop as he passed through the entrance of the hospital, but said, "Damn right we will.

---

"Harry, what do you have?" Gibbs asked as he marched into Abby's lab, trailed by Abby and Ziva. He shrugged out of his wet jacket; it had started to rain again during the drive into NCIS.

Special Agent Harry Saunders spun around. "Gibbs, hey. How's your man."

"Hanging in there," Gibbs replied curtly. He didn't want to talk about McGee; he wanted to focus on getting the bastards who did it. "What do you have?"

Saunders nodded to his junior agent, a blonde named Krista Parkinson. She picked up a remote and started, "We got the CCTV footage and we think there's something useful on it."

Krista jabbed the remote, but nothing happened. "Uh," she said, looking unsure. "It _should_ have worked."

"Oh, give it here," Abby demanded. She pushed past Gibbs and all but snatched the remote from Krista.

She pressed a few buttons and then the screen sprang to life. Abby hurried back to her computer, punched a few keys and the footage started to play.

"Fast forward to this morning, oh-eight-hundred hours," Saunders ordered.

Abby did so, and once she reached that morning, Krista said, "Stop. Right there. Can you, uh, push in on those people there?"

Abby fiddled with a few more keys and the video zoomed in.

Krista continued, "It's a little hard to see because of the rain and wind, but we're pretty certain that's our suspects. We won't know for sure until Agent DiNozzo ID's them, but we think it's them. We're certain there were at least two attackers, and as you can kinda make out, both are wearing hoodies that cover their heads. That makes it hard to do visual identification, but hopefully Agent DiNozzo got a look at their faces."

"He did," Gibbs affirmed. Then he noticed a car. He pointed to it. "What about that car? I don't think it was there before."

Abby rewound the tape and the agents watched as the blue sedan rolled up and stopped across the road from McGee's apartment. The suspects got out of the car and headed towards McGee's building.

Abby paused the video as Gibbs ordered, "Zoom in on the car. We might get a licence plate."

Punching in the commands, the video zoomed in on the rear licence plate. Gibbs studied it before ordering, "Can you make it clearer?"

"Of course I can," Abby replied. "I am the master, after all."

"That you are, Abs." Gibbs smiled lightly.

Abby cleaned up the image and soon the fuzzy image was more visible. Gibbs squinted at it.

"I think I can see an 'H' and a '5'," Ziva commented, pointing to the screen.

"HGA-579," Krista said with barely a glance at the screen. When the others looked at her, she shrugged and said, "I've always had good eyesight."

"Abby . . ." Gibbs started.

"Already on it, Gibbs," Abby replied, fingers flying over her keyboard. "It's a DC licence plate, so . . . we have a match!"

Abby looked a little more like her old self as she read, "The car is registered to a Darren Hayes. He lives in DC and . . ." Abby paused.

"What is it, Abs?" Gibbs asked.

"He was recently released from jail," she answered quietly. She tapped away at the keyboard. "And so was his girlfriend, Julianne Meyer."

Ziva looked at Gibbs. "Are you thinking what I am thinking?"

Gibbs nodded. "Pull up their files, Abby."

Abby pulled up the files for Hayes and his girlfriend and sighed. "Their cases were covered by NCIS a few years ago. They robbed a Navy base bank. Tony led the investigation. You were in Mexico, Gibbs."

Her eyes widened as she said, "McGee made the arrests; both of them."

Gibbs looked livid as Krista asked, "So it was a revenge attack? For putting them away?"

"It would seem so," Gibbs said through clenched teeth. He was not happy. "The stupid idiots used their own car."

He shook his head to clear it and barked, "Abby, get the address."

There were a few moments of silence before Abby announced, "A few blocks away from the Navy Yard." She scribbled down the address and Gibbs snatched it out of her hand.

"Ziva, with me," he ordered. "Abby, put a BOLO out on that car."

"Krista, go with them," Saunders added, looking at his agent. Gibbs didn't say anything in response to Saunders' order, but looked less than impressed.

"You might need some back-up, Gibbs," Saunders said plainly. "And there's no one I would trust more than Krista."

Krista blushed at the compliment.

Gibbs sighed. "Whatever, just keep out of the way."

Krista nodded. "Of course, sir."

"Don't call me sir," Gibbs snapped as he stormed out of Abby's lab.

Ziva shot Krista an apologetic look. "He is just upset."

"It's okay," Krista said with a tight smile. "I get it."

"Are you two coming or not?" Gibbs yelled impatiently from the corridor.

Ziva and Krista raced out the door.

---

Gibbs didn't even bother to announce their arrival. He just kicked down the door and stormed inside, gun drawn. Ziva and Krista followed, also clutching their guns. Gibbs signalled for them to take separate rooms. They did and soon there were calls of "clear."

"There is no one here, Gibbs," Ziva said as she holstered her weapon. They were regrouping in the combined lounge and kitchen area.

"The kettle on the table is stone cold," Krista added. "They probably didn't come back here after the assault on Agent McGee."

Gibbs looked very annoyed as he put away his weapon.

"Search the place," he ordered. "Turn it upside down. I want to see _anything_ that might give us an idea of where they are. Ziva, start with the bedroom. Parkinson, the kitchen."

Krista and Ziva nodded, and went to their respective search areas. Gibbs, meanwhile, started on the lounge room.

They worked in silence for a few minutes, until Gibbs' cell rang and startled all three agents. Gibbs picked it up, looked at the caller ID and said, "What do you want, Abs?"

He was silent as he listened to Abby on the other end. Then abruptly, Gibbs closed his cell and turned to Ziva and Krista. "They've had a hit on the BOLO. A warehouse complex about five miles from here."

"What are we waiting for?" Ziva was already at the door. She, like Gibbs, had been highly disappointed that the idiots weren't stupid enough to come back to their apartment. She would have liked a few _words _with them.

"I will get some more back-up," Krista called as she ran after Gibbs and Ziva. "And get Harry down here to finish securing the apartment."

Gibbs nodded and tossed Ziva the keys. "You drive. I'll call Ducky and get an update on McGee's condition."

"Got it," Ziva affirmed and threw herself into the driver's seat. Krista and Gibbs jumped into the other seats, and Ziva was off before they had even finished doing up their seatbelts.

Krista looked slightly green as Gibbs pulled out his cell phone and pressed the speed dial. "Ducky, yeah. It's me. Any word on McGee?"

---

"I have just had a call from Jethro, Anthony," Ducky announced as he walked calmly into Tony's cubical.

The on-call doctor was nearly finished bandaging Tony's wrist. Tony still looked grumpy and less than impressed and shot Ducky a look of contempt. He still wasn't in the mood for company.

Ducky ignored the look and continued, "He asked about Timothy, of course. And I told him that there was no change. Timothy is still with us and about to go into surgery."

Tony shrugged. "That all?"

"Jethro also said they know who attacked Timothy," Ducky said carefully, watching for Tony's reaction.

Tony's body language changed and he muttered, "Who was it?"

"A pair of bank thieves from a few years ago; while Jethro was in Mexico."

A look of realisation dawned on Tony's face. "The Hayes case?"

"I would believe so," Ducky replied.

"I . . . I was lead agent," Tony started, "but McGee made the arrests because . . ." Tony trailed off and looked at his lap.

"Because of what?" Ducky asked gently.

Tony shook his head and said, "Did Gibbs say anything else?"

Ducky was torn. He wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to tell Tony that Gibbs and Ziva were on their way to potentially confront McGee's attackers.

"Did he say anything else?" Tony was now looking angry.

Ducky hesitated before saying, "Yes. I believe that they were on their way to a warehouse lot. It seems the BOLO picked up their car there."

Tony immediately jumped off the bed. "What warehouse?"

Ducky hesitated again, so Tony shouted, "Which warehouse, damnit?"

"Anthony, I do not think . . ."

"I don't care what you think!" Tony exclaimed and looked at the doctor. "You're done, right?" he snapped.

"Yes, but . . ." the doctor tried, but Tony had turned away.

"Which warehouse?" Tony had a dark look on his face.

"I'm not sure . . ."

"Fine, I'll get it from someone else." Tony stormed out of the cubical and over to the doors that led to the waiting room and the outside world.

"Open the doors," he demanded.

The doctor shook his head. "Agent DiNozzo, it is in your best interests . . ."

"I don't care about me!" Tony yelled.

"Anthony . . ."

"Open the doors!" Tony repeated angrily. "Or I'll do it myself!"

"Tony!" Ducky exclaimed.

"What? I will."

Ducky turned to the doctor. "Perhaps you should let him go. I am a doctor, myself. I'll keep an eye on him."

The doctor looked at Tony and then muttered, "I would like to get him a psych consult."

Ducky shook his head. "I assure you that it would be a waste of time. It would best to let him be. If anything happens to his wrist, I will bring him straight back here."

"Well, he'll have to sign out AMA," the doctor said.

"Fine by me," Tony said loudly. "Bring me the papers and I'll sign."

The doctor looked at Ducky, who nodded. "Fine," he sighed. "But will you stop yelling?"

Tony blushed. "Sorry," he muttered. "Not sure what came over me."

"I still want a psych consult," the doctor whispered to Ducky as he left to get the forms.

"I'm not crazy, Ducky," Tony said, poking his tongue out at the disappearing doctor.

"I know, Tony."

"I want to go to the warehouse," Tony demanded.

"I thought you might."

"Can I have the keys?"

Ducky shook his head. "No."

Tony started to get angry again, but Ducky cut him off. "How, do you suppose, are you going to drive with one hand?"

Tony had the decency to look a little sheepish as Ducky finished, "I will drive."

"Okay." Tony nodded automatically as the doctor returned with the required paperwork.

Tony quickly signed the forms without reading them and looked impatiently at the doctor. With a disapproving glace at Ducky, the doctor opened the doors and Tony raced outside.

"I'll keep an eye on him," Ducky assured the doctor. "Sometimes it is best to let these things work themselves out."

With that, Ducky followed Tony outside.


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four: **_A Shot in Time_

"DiNozzo, what the _hell_ are you doing here?" Gibbs demanded, looking angry. Tony and Ducky walked towards Gibbs, Ziva and Krista.

"I am an NCIS agent," Tony said bluntly. "I have every right."

"Not while you're injured," Gibbs hissed. The rain had started again and this did nothing to improve Gibbs' mood.

Tony shrugged. "I can shoot with one hand."

"You will not be doing any shooting!" Gibbs shouted. He glared at Ducky. "What the hell were you thinking when you let him abscond from the hospital!?"

Ducky looked slightly affronted. "I was thinking about Anthony's best interests."

Gibbs grew livid. "Best interests? Who's best interests?"

"He would have found a way no matter not," Ducky replied calmly. "After all, you did ask me to appraise him on the situation."

"I did not tell you to bring him here," Gibbs shouted. "He is a liability!"

"He would have found a way," Ducky said in the same calm voice. "I would have thought you would prefer Anthony in one piece and not in a tangled wreck because he crashed the car while driving one-handed."

Gibbs sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Fine," he muttered. "You're here now, but you and Ducky stay here at the cars. You do not move. You do not pull your weapon. You do nothing! Got it?"

Tony opened his mouth to protest, but Ducky cut him off and said, "If that is what you want, Jethro. I will see that Anthony stays here."

"Good." Gibbs still did not look pleased.

He turned to the other agents and said, "Right, here's how it's going to work. We're going to split up into four divisions, led by Officer David, Agent Parkinson, Agent Samarq and myself. David will go east. Parkinson will cover the west. Samarq, the south, and I will be taking the north."

Krista looked surprised. "Me? Really?"

Gibbs shot her one of his glares. "You got a problem with that, Agent Parkinson?"

Krista shook her head quickly. She wasn't about to pass up the chance to have a lead role in a big operation. "Of course not."

"Good," Gibbs continued. "Everyone is to keep in radio contact at all times. This is a big complex and the Intel was not specific. Hayes and Meyer could be anywhere. It is possible that they could be armed, so exercise extreme caution at all times."

Gibbs finished his orders and the agents nodded. They gathered in their respective teams and fell out, heading in their assigned direction. Gibbs and his team lingered for a moment as Gibbs turned to Tony and Ducky.

He tossed them something. "Here."

Ducky caught the object and looked at it. It was a radio.

"It does not mean that you are to go anywhere but the car," Gibbs warned and signalled for his team to move out.

Tony glanced at Ducky. "Well, this sucks."

"What did you think was going to happen, Anthony?" Ducky asked. "Did you really think Jethro would have allowed you to work?"

Tony shrugged. "I dunno."

"Then I suggest you do as he says and stay put," Ducky said firmly. "I agree when he said. You should not be working whilst injured."

Ducky paused and looked as radio. He held it out to Tony. "I am afraid I am not used to these things. Anthony?"

Tony sighed and tuned the radio to the same frequency being used by the other agents.

---

It was ten minutes before any of the action started. Tony was leaning against one of the cars and looking extremely bored while Ducky was standing patiently. Then, the radio sprang to life.

"Attention all units," came Krista's voice. "Suspects sighted on the western side. Warehouse A89. In pursuit."

"Copy."

"Copy."

"Copy."

Tony and Ducky looked at each other while there was a bit of static. Then . . .

"Suspects are armed! I repeat! Suspects are armed! We're heading . . ."

Krista was cut off abruptly by the sound of gunfire. There were some yells, a couple of shouts and the sound of a body hitting the floor.

Ducky and Tony were worried. They both knew they were thinking, '_Oh, God. Please not someone else_.'

Gibbs was the next voice they heard. He sounded harried. "Duck, we could use your help here. Krista's been shot."

"Is she okay?" Tony asked into the radio.

"I think so, but a bit of help would be nice," Gibbs replied.

"Did you . . ." Tony started.

"One. Hayes. Julianne Meyers got away. Ziva, Samarq and their teams went after her," Gibbs said quickly. "We're bringing him in. Duck, we'll collect you on the way."

"How serious, Jethro?" Ducky asked, grabbing the radio off Tony.

"She copped one in the shoulder. She's conscious and pissed off," Gibbs replied.

Ducky cracked a smile. "Tell her to keep pressure on it."

"She was a med science major, Ducky," Gibbs replied lightly. "I think she knows."

"Good. See you soon, Jethro."

"Keep us up-to-date," Tony added.

The radio fell silent and Ducky said, "I will get the first-aid kit from the car."

Tony nodded, but said nothing.

It was another ten minutes or so before Gibbs and another couple of agents turned up lunging Hayes behind them. He was handcuffed and shouting obscenities.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut up."

Gibbs ignored Hayes' reply and instead focused on Ducky and Tony.

"I'm leaving Hayes and Matthews here," he stated, referring to their prisoner and another agent. "Ducky, with me."

Gibbs thrust Hayes into the custody of Matthews, and indicated for Ducky and the other agent to follow him back to the scene.

"Keep an eye on him," Gibbs told Matthews, and Tony wasn't sure whether Gibbs meant him or Hayes. Matthews nodded so Gibbs hurried off, followed by the agent and Ducky.

"So . . ." Matthews said awkwardly.

Hayes rolled his eyes. "Oh, save me the bloody small talk."

"Why don't you just shut it," Matthews started, sounding annoyed. "We don't need to listen to scum like . . ."

All hell broke loose.

---

Before Tony had a chance to react, Hayes had Matthews unconscious on the ground and was clutching Matthews' weapon in his cuffed hands. He pointed it at Tony.

"I am not going back inside," Hayes spat as Tony drew his gun.

Tony winced as a spasm of pain shot up his injured arm. He glanced over at Matthews. His chest was still rising and falling, so he was merely knocked out.

Hayes smirked. "Sorry 'bout that," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "You were at the apartment, weren't you?"

"Maybe," Tony shot back. He was having a hard time keeping his weapon steady. His wrist was killing him.

"I remember your face," Hayes said casually, "obviously. You did leave the investigation into my case, Agent DiNozzo . . . though you sent that bumbling idiot to arrest me."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "What did you call him?"

Hayes grinned. "Ooh, found your weakness, have we? Aww, how sweet. Defending Agent McGee's honour. Don't know why you'd bother."

"Agent McGee is worth ten of you," Tony spat. There were no words to describe the anger Tony felt towards Hayes.

Hayes rolled his eyes. "He couldn't even fight a _girl_. If I were NCIS, I would have chucked him off a cliff ages ago . . ."

Tony's finger twitched on the trigger. He wanted to shoot the smart bastard more than he'd ever wanted to shoot someone before.

". . . Ineffective. Hopeless." Hayes finished his barrage of insults. "Agent bloody McGee destroyed my life. I just wanted to return the favour. How is he, by the way?"

"Fighting," Tony said proudly. "We're not so easily beaten."

"Pity," Hayes sighed. "I should have killed the bastard."

"I will kill you if you don't put the gun down." Tony raised his gun so that it was level with Hayes' face. Even that little action made his wrist hurt.

Hayes looked at the gun and shrugged. "So shoot me."

"Oh believe me, I want to," Tony hissed. "Very badly."

"Then shoot," Hayes goaded.

"I value my job too much to waste it on you," Tony replied. His gun was shaking slightly, and Tony wasn't sure whether it was because of his wrist or because of himself.

"Too bad," Hayes said, sounding disappointed. "I guess you're as gutless as Agent McGee. Typical. You Feds are all talk and no action."

Tony cocked the gun and snapped dryly, "Really? Is that so?"

Hayes grinned manically. "That's more like it, DiNozzo. Be a man. Show some anger. I put your man in hospital after all. It was very satisfying, I think."

Hayes nodded as he continued, "There was nothing sweeter than the sound of the first bone breaking. Or that first drop of blood. Did you see the blood, Agent DiNozzo? Did you see it pool around his head? Did you get it on your clothes as you tried to save him? How did it feel to have the life of Agent McGee soak into your expensive shirt knowing that it was your fault?"

Tony said nothing.

Hayes raised the gun and pulled back the hammer. "Still gutless, I see. Pity."

He aimed the gun at Tony's face. "I should have made more of a mess, really. But Jules was getting squeamish, the silly bitch."

Hayes pulled back the trigger. "I should have blasted his head off. Splattered his brains all over his walls. Pink bits of goo, I think it's described as. That would have been a much better present, much like your dead body. How do you think the others would react? Hmmm . . ."

A shot rang out.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five: **_Finale _

"It bloody hurts," Krista swore, clutching her shoulder.

Gibbs grinned slightly. "Getting shot does that to you. You didn't have to play hero, Krista."

"We got him, didn't we?"

"Yes, that may be so," Gibbs answered. "But still, I will be having a chat with Harry when we get back."

Krista pulled a face. "You sound like a school principal . . . Ouch. That hurt, Ducky."

"Well, my dear, don't move," Ducky said pleasantly as he pulled away Krista's bloodied hand and replaced it with some gauze from the first aid box.

Krista grimaced. "I think you're right, Gibbs. No heroics next time. Getting shot sucks."

"I should hope not," Gibbs replied firmly. "We've already had one casualty because of this mess, we don't need any more."

"Indeed we don't," Ducky agreed as Ziva hurried over to Gibbs.

She was panting and looked irritated. "We cannot find her, Gibbs. We have looked; the others are still looking. She probably ran after Hayes was caught." She paused. "Where is he?"

"With Tony and Matthews back at the car," Gibbs replied curtly.

Ziva nodded and looked down at Krista. "You okay? That was quite a tackle."

Krista would have shrugged nonchalantly if her shoulder didn't hurt so much. "I'm fine. It hurts like no tomorrow, but I'll live."

"It could have been a lot worse," Ducky chided lightly.

"Too right it could have been," Gibbs added. "Be glad that it wasn't."

"Oh, I certainly am," Krista responded dryly.

"Are you sure there is no sign of Meyer?" Gibbs asked Ziva.

She nodded. "We have not seen her and we have covered every place we can think of."

Gibbs sighed. "Great, this is all we need."

"I am sorry," Ziva apologised.

"Don't apologise, it's a sign of weakness," Gibbs snapped and looked thoughtful. "Okay, we need to . . ."

He was cut off by a gunshot.

Everyone flinched.

"Tony," Ziva murmured.

"It came from the direction of the . . . cars," Krista supplied helpfully, but faltered at Gibbs' look. "You knew that."

Ziva looked at Gibbs, who nodded. "Be careful, Ziva," he warned. "Shoot first, ask questions later. Got it?"

Ziva nodded and ran off in the direction of the parked cars. The fear of losing another teammate pushed her harder than ever before.

She reached the cars at a speed that would have made the world's fastest sprinter proud. Ziva screeched to a halt as she rounded on the car.

"NCIS! Drop your weapon!" Ziva swung out from behind one of the cars. "Put your weapon . . ."

Ziva trailed off and blinked. Hesitantly, she lowered her weapon slightly and whispered, "Tony, what did you do?"

---

Tony's gun clattered to the floor when he heard Ziva's voice. He was asking himself the same question. His hands were trembling and he could not tear his eyes away from Hayes' lifeless body.

'_What have I done_?' he repeated to himself. '_What have I done_?'

"Tony . . ."

_Ziva_, something in Tony's brain registered. _Ziva will understand. Ziva will know._

"He was going to shoot me," Tony said softly, emotionless and without looking at Ziva.

Ziva came up behind Tony and gently touched his shoulder. She looked down at Hayes' body and had a momentary thought of 'good, he deserves to be dead.'

"He was going to shoot you?" Ziva repeated.

Tony nodded. "Yeah."

"Then why is the gun over there?"

--Flashback--

_Hayes pulled back the trigger. "I should have blasted his head off. Splattered his brains all over his walls. Pink bits of goo, I think it's described as. That would have been a much better present, much like your dead body. How do you think the others would react? Hmmm . . ."_

"_You won't shoot me," Tony retorted. "You've already brutally assaulted a Fed. Murdering one is not going to be pretty."_

_Hayes shrugged. "Exactly. I'm probably going to get near-life anyway. Why not make it a certainty?"_

"_You're nuts, did you know that," Tony muttered._

"_Been told that all my life," Hayes replied casually. "You're not the first."_

"_Pity," Tony said, repeating one of Hayes' favourite words. "But I guess I won't be the first to try this."_

_Tony lunged at Hayes and knocked him to the ground. Ignoring the stabbing pain in his wrist, Tony grabbed Hayes' weapon arm and slammed it into ground repeatedly. Finally, Tony got the gun free and in the struggle it was kicked to the side._

"_How do you like it now?" Tony had gotten back to his feet and was aiming his weapon (which he had managed to hold on to) at Hayes' fallen body. _

"_You can't shoot me," Hayes said, though he looked a little uncertain. _

"_Can't I?" Tony cocked the gun. He really was tempted to pull the trigger._

"_Think of your job, Agent DiNozzo," Hayes taunted._

"_Oh, I am," Tony said lightly as he aimed his line of fire._

_Desperately, Hayes lunged for the fallen gun. He had only managed to get himself up to his knees when . . ._

_A shot rang out. _

--End Flashback--

"He was going to shoot you," Ziva repeated firmly for the third time after Tony had finished telling her the story.

"But . . ." Tony had finally come to his sense and realised what he had done.

"He was going for the gun," Ziva cut in. "He could have shot you with it."

"Yeah, _could_, Zee-vah," Tony muttered.

Ziva made a split-second decision. "What happened has happened. You cannot change it. You shot in self-defence . . . but we can make sure there is no evidence that could suggest otherwise. . ."

"Ziva . . ." Tony looked worried. "What are you . . .?"

Ziva shook her head to cut him off. Taking off her jacket, she slowly approached the fallen gun. Using the jacket to mask any possible fingerprints, Ziva picked up the gun and brought it back over to Hayes' body.

"Ziva . . ." Tony repeated.

"Which hand did he hold the gun in?" Ziva asked quickly.

When Tony didn't reply, she asked firmly and hurriedly, "Tony, which hand?!"

"His right," Tony murmured.

Again, Ziva used her jacket to prise open Hayes' right hand. Looking slightly awkward, Ziva slipped the gun into Hayes' palm and closed his fingers around the grip. She shrugged her jacket back on and stepped backwards.

"He was going to shoot you," Ziva said, gazing pointedly at Tony.

"You just tampered with a crime scene!" Tony looked pale. He felt light-headed. This was way too much.

"He. Was. Going. To. Shoot. You," Ziva hissed, emphasising each word. "Got it." When Tony didn't reply, she shook his shoulder.

"Got it?" she demanded and for the first time, looked upset. Tony shook his head.

"I just covered something up that could have cost you your career, perhaps your freedom . . . and now could cost mine," she muttered harshly. "Got it?"

Tony blinked. He had never seen that expression on Ziva's face before. She actually looked petrified, anxious and upset all at the same time. The sheer shock was enough for him to nod his head.

"Got it," he echoed.

"He was going to shoot you," Ziva repeated for the final time. "No matter how it happened, he was going to shoot you."

"He was going to shoot me."

"Good, stick to that. I will say that I found him with a gun, also," Ziva said quietly. "We must keep this to ourselves. You cannot tell anyone. _Ever_. We could lose our jobs and go to prison."

Tony nodded dumbly. He was still in shock. "It's our secret."

"Our secret."

---

"What happened?" Gibbs asked as he arrived two minutes later. The rain had stopped, but it was dark and overcast. He looked at Matthews, who was now sitting up and rubbing his head.

"He knocked out Matthews, grabbed his gun and tried to shoot me," Tony said, relaying the agreed upon story. A little part of him was telling him it was wrong, wrong, wrong, but what else could he do?

Gibbs looked over to Hayes, who was clutching Matthews' gun. Gibbs nodded. "Can anyone back you up?"

Ziva stepped forward. "When I arrived I saw Tony holding his gun and Hayes on the floor with Matthews' gun. There is no way Tony would have shot without being provoked or threatened."

There was something that Gibbs' gut did not quite believe, but he accepted it anyway. Whatever went down resulted in Hayes' death and really, to Gibbs it was not a great loss of life.

"Okay, but I need your firearm." When Tony looked confused, Gibbs added, "Standard procedure, remember. Just until the investigation is finished."

"Oh, right." Tony handed over his gun with an almost longing look. He winced.

Gibbs looked slightly concerned. "How's your wrist, Tony?"

Tony didn't bother to lie. "It hurts."

"I'm not surprised," Gibbs sighed. "Once Ducky has finished handing Krista over to the paramedics, I'll get him to drive you back to the hospital. You shouldn't have left in the first place."

Tony hung his head. "Yeah, I kinda realise that now."

'_Especially since you're now involved in the cover-up of a potential murder_,' he added to himself.

"Ducky," Gibbs called when he spotted the medical examiner. Ducky walked over to them. "Krista get off okay?"

"Yes, fine. They think it is a through and through. She'll be fine after a few stitches," Ducky answered.

"Good," Gibbs nodded and gestured to Tony. "Fancy taking DiNozzo back to the hospital? His wrist is hurting."

Ducky tut-tutted. "You should have listened to the doctor, Anthony."

"Yeah, yeah, I don't need a lecture from you too," Tony muttered and then asked Gibbs, "What about Julianne Meyers?"

Gibbs looked annoyed. "Dunno. She must have had a car somewhere. She's not here now."

"Damn," Tony murmured.

"They are still looking, yes?" Ziva questioned.

"There is an APB out on here. All of metro are on the lookout. She'll be found," Gibbs replied. "And when she is, Meyers is going down for a long time."

"And without her boyfriend," Ziva added. "Pity."

"Ziva . . ." Gibbs warned.

"Sorry, Gibbs."

Gibbs sighed. "Ziva, I want you to help me finish up here. Ducky, take DiNozzo back to the hospital. DiNozzo, I do not want to see your face again today, unless it's at the hospital. Okay?"

"Of course, Jethro."

"Yes, Gibbs."

"On it, boss."

Gibbs half-smiled. "Get to it. And get an update on McGee's condition."

"Okay."

"And call Abby while you're at it," Gibbs called after Ducky and Tony. "She's probably drowned herself in Caff-Pow!"


	7. Epilogue

**Epilogue:** _It Was a Dark and Stormy Night _

Two Days Later

"Ducky said you might be able to hear us," Tony said as he walked around McGee's hospital bed and fiddled with the edge of one of the get well cards. "So I better not go telling you any of my deep dark secrets. I don't need you waking up and blackmailing me."

McGee didn't reply.

"Nah," Tony continued, walking back around to the chair next to his bed. He didn't sit down. "You wouldn't blackmail me. Zee-vah, sure, but not Probie."

Tony paused and ran his hand along the back of the chair. His wrist was still bandaged, though it didn't hurt like it had two days before.

"But I'm still not telling you my deepest dark secrets," Tony finished. "For all I know, you could use them in your next book!"

He walked another round of McGee's bed before sitting down on the chair. He sighed and said, "I'm sorry this happened, Probie."

"_You shouldn't be,_" he wanted McGee to wake up and say; knowing Probie probably would wake up and say that. But Tony knew it wasn't true, so really, it was no big loss.

"Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't try and absolve me either," Tony muttered when McGee didn't reply. "I really messed up royally. I'm probably the biggest idiot on earth."

The investigation had cleared Tony (and Ziva) of any wrongdoing on his behalf. His life had been threatened, it concluded, and Agent DiNozzo had acted accordingly. Tony had wanted to laugh when he read the report. _If only they knew_.

"I don't even know what I was thinking," Tony said after awhile. "I still don't."

Tony paused and glanced away. He felt guilty, extremely guilty. It just wasn't McGee's assault; it was a combination of that, Hayes' death and Ziva's cover-up. He couldn't even start to understand what Ziva was thinking when she decided tampering with the crime scene was a good idea.

Not that he was any less guilty. He had let Ziva do it, helped her, even when deep down he knew it was a bad idea. It made it worse, in his eyes. Worse than Ziva's attempt to help . . . he had done nothing to stop it and now he was regretting doing it. _Any of it_.

Hayes had been right. He had been too gutless to stand up to Ziva and tell her that it wasn't a good idea. Granted, he was in shock, but still. If they were found out, their careers would be over and quite possibly their freedom.

Tony laughed humourlessly as he wondered if someone might visit him in prison. It's not like he had anyone to visit him. And it would just be a matter of time, he believed, before they were found out. Ziva had told him to stop being so paranoid, but not everyone could be a Mossad spy.

He knew Gibbs knew something was up. Tony wasn't that dumb; he'd caught the looks Gibbs had been sending him and Ziva for the past two days. Thankfully, Gibbs hadn't called them on it, but Tony wondered if he already knew and would never call them on it. His team was already shattered enough as it was. He didn't need to send two agents to jail for a stupid mistake.

"Hah, stupid mistake, yeah right," Tony muttered darkly. "Some mistake. Ziva knew exactly what she was doing. So did I, deep down."

"I should never have let it happen," Tony said. "Any of it. I shouldn't have let you get attacked. I shouldn't have shot Hayes. I shouldn't have let Ziva tamper with evidence . . . It's just a huge mess."

Tony blushed as he said, "It's just . . . I was so angry. When Hayes was talking about you, all I could see was you on the floor in your apartment. I just couldn't stop thinking about the blood . . . God, I didn't think anyone could bleed that much . . ." Tony broke off and sniffled.

Then he laughed. "Look at this, Probie. Never thought I'd see the day when I was crying over you . . . It's very Brokeback Mountain. You think I'd look good in a cowboy hat?"

Tony shook his head. "Didn't think so." He paused.

"Still," he continued, "I really thought at the time Hayes was going to kill me. I know he was lunging for the gun. Or I thought I knew that. I don't really know anymore. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. Maybe I just wanted him dead so much that I convinced myself it was in self-defence . . . A shrink would have a field day with this."

Tony stood up and warned, "You better not use that in your book, Probie."

He started pacing. "It's been so weird at HQ the past couple of days. Ziva and I can barely look at each other anymore. Gibbs alternates between shouting at us and being nice to us . . . it's very un-nerving, actually. Abby won't stop crying. It's chaos."

Tony sighed dejectedly. "Never thought I'd say this . . . but we need you back, Tim. We just don't work without you. It's weird, but true. It's like when Kate . . ."

Tony cut himself off and shook his head angrily. "No, nothing like Kate. You're still _alive_."

'_Just_,' Tony amended, looking at the ventilator.

McGee had come through the surgery, but had yet to show any signs of wanting to breathe on his own or wake up. His parents had arrived just over twenty-four hours ago, followed by Sarah. They were currently having a coffee, convinced by the nurses to take a break. This had allowed Tony to slip in and visit.

"I am so sorry, McGee," Tony sighed. "This should have never have happened. I shouldn't have sent you to arrest those two alone, and then none of this would have happened. Just because I was too busy with my personal life was no reason to neglect my duties."

"I was an awful boss, I know," Tony finished sadly. "Don't make a much better senior agent either."

Tony sat down again. "You have to wake up, McGee," he pleaded. "Now, in two weeks time, I don't care. But you _have_ to wake up."

A tear trickled down Tony's cheek. "I can't do this again. Not after Kate. And Paula."

Tony blinked away his tears. "Still crying over you, Probie. It's a momentous occasion. We should write a song."

"With your singing, I'd rather not," a voice said from the doorway.

Tony started and nearly fell off his chair. "Gibbs?" He blushed.

"Who else would it be, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said, stepping into McGee's hospital room. He slipped out of his raincoat and looked at it critically.

'_It must be raining again_,' Tony concluded bitterly. '_Typical, just what we need. More rain._'

Gibbs looked at McGee's prone body and asked quietly, "Any change?"

Tony shook his head. "Nope, still the same."

Gibbs sighed. "Where are his parents?"

"Getting coffee," Tony replied. "The nurses convinced them to take a break."

"They need one," Gibbs mused and then added to himself, "We all do."

There was a moment of silence before Tony asked, "Why are you here, boss?"

For once, Gibbs looked a little more cheerful. "We got Meyer."

"Really? Where?"

"Trying to cross the border in a stolen car. Border patrol picked her up. She's on her way back to DC. _I_ am going to interview her," Gibbs answered.

"So it's over, then?" Tony asked softly, looking like a lost child.

"It's nowhere near over, Tony," Gibbs replied sadly as he looked at McGee's still body. "Not even close."

Tony and Gibbs fell silent. Only the pattering of the rain and the gentle beeping of the monitor remained.

_Finis _


End file.
